Editor,
I once lived in Costa Rica where they have names for different kinds of rain. I particularly liked the Pelo de Gato, or “cat fur” in English, which is so fine it was hard to tell if it was really rain or just falling fog. I am not Catholic, but I also liked Baño de Maria, or “Mary’s bath” in English, which means rain falling on you while the sun is shining.
Wednesday here in Albuquerque, something wonderful happened. First, it began to snow, in great big fluffy flakes without a breath of wind to disturb their fall. It snowed just enough to drape everything with a layer of perfect white. Then, in minutes, the clouds broke open like curtains to reveal a clear blue sky, a balmy afternoon that quickly flashed the snow away — leaving all the new spring colors wet and bright and alive. I hereby declare that to have been Mantilla de Maria, or “Mary’s mantle of lace.”
James Nathan Post
Daily Lobo reader
